Last Chance to Love
by Yumi-Ulrich4ever
Summary: REPOSTED Takeru was killed in an accident, shattering the world as Kari knew it. But when he's given a week to live again, will it be enough time to share his love with her and erase the guilt that Yamato's living with? Takari, Taito
1. Prologue

**A/N: So I went to start on the next chapter of this story, but before I could do that I felt it necessary to re-edit this one last time! So hopefully the quality is better now!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Digimon. This story is written completely for fan-based purposes.  
**

It was half past three in the morning when the sharp ringing roused her from sleep, murmuring irrelevant complaints about 'needing sleep' and 'if it's Yamato, I'll kill him'. Lord knows why her brother's boyfriend always managed to call at ungodly hours of the night. As expected, she heard her brother's voice answering the phone on the other side of the bedroom door. She didn't expect, however, the surprise in Taichi's voice or the name of the caller as he was revealed.

"Ishida-san?" There were several moments of silence, then some low speaking, then more silence. Finally the response was given,

"We'll be right there." She noted the rarity of the soft tone Tai was using. It was only a minute before the door creaked open and he crept in; even in the deep shadows she recognized the look of pure shock on his face. But it was when he called, "Hikari," that she realized how serious the situation was. Taichi never called her by her full name. Ever.

"What is it?" she asked lightly. He flinched a little, not expecting her to already be awake.

"Hikari," he repeated, this time voice thick with a suppressed sob. "There…there was an accident."

* * *

She flew through the revolving door attempting to keep up with Taichi's quick pace developed from years of soccer (and running from predators in the digital world, of course). They ran to the front desk, asked for directions, and started down the hall again before the nurse could argue against it. Heading to the first of the two room numbers, speed was pushed to a maximum. Upon reaching the room, Masaharu Ishida walked out into the hallway. For a moment, he simply stared blankly at the Yagami siblings. The common dark circles of exhaustion found under his eyes looked as if they were etched so deep they would never fade and his usual emotionless features could not mask the anxiety that seemed to strangle him inside.

"How are they?" Taichi asked, skipping right through hellos. Masaharu's eyes shifted slightly to meet the elder of the siblings, but it appeared as if he were looking _through_ him, rather than at him.

"It's worse than we thought, Tai. Takeru's a mess. He has a broken arm and a severe concussion. The doctors…they…they say his condition isn't promising; he's lost a lot of blood..." With his last addition to the statement, he glanced sorrowfully at the door from where he'd just exited. Water began to leak from the stern man's eyes. Hikari went numb. She barely noticed the tears dripping down her own cheeks or the knot in her stomach that suddenly made it hard to breathe.

Taichi, who had been silent, inquired meekly, "And Yamato?" The man closed his dark eyes for a moment, exhaling deeply, and when he opened them again, Hikari nearly collapsed upon seeing the anguish that lied within them. Her best friend's father placed a hand on her brother's shoulder.

"Taichi, he hit his head pretty hard when the car flipped…Yamato's in a coma." Kari had never in her life seen her brother's chocolate eyes as big or glazed over as they were at that moment.

"A coma?" He squeaked, voice cracking with fear. The older man nodded once and lowered his gaze, the tile floor glaring the harsh, florescent light back at him. "You two will see Takeru for me, won't you? He's in this room right here. I need to go find Natsuko; I think she's with Yamato." And with that, he walked off.

"Onii-chan…"

Taichi turned to his sister, placing an unsteady hand on the door handle.

"Are you ready?" He questioned shakily. She gave a quick nod, wiped some tears with the back of her hand, and nodded again signaling she was as prepared as she would ever be. Her brother slowly pushed the heavy door open. Hikari forced herself to hold back a scream and felt a fresh wave of sorrow wash over when catching sight of the broken boy lying on the hospital bed. She stood frozen for a minute before Tai gave her a soft nudge to keep moving. Walking towards him was like wading through water: a slow process stripping her of energy. She reached his side, and collapsed in the chair, a fountain of tears dripping from ruby orbs all over again.

"Kari?" She glanced up from the ground to meet startled blue eyes watching her with confusion.

"Takeru…" she whispered, "H-How are you?"

"I'm all right. How about yourself?" She stared at him in doubt. Maybe it was the concussion talking. Then again, this was Takeru, child of hope. He always did manage to find something bright in all situations. But...this…should be different...

Kari silently inspected his injuries from her chair. His body was mangled, limb in a sling. His shirt had been removed and there was a noticeably thick bandage covering what must be a incredibly deep wound on his upper torso, judging by the way blood was still managing to seep through. His hat was also elsewhere, one side of his head heavily bandaged. He was so pale…

…**Beep…Beep-beep…beep…beep-beep-beep…**

The monitor was unsteady…meaning he was unsteady…meaning soon…

**No**. She wasn't going to think like that. He'd be just fine. He'd get better, they'd get out of this place and everything would be the same as it always was. He'd be okay…wouldn't he?

"TK…" she pleaded, reverting back to his childhood nickname, "how can you say you're all right? Look at yourself." She reached out and gently took his hand in hers, ignoring the crimson liquid steadily dripping from his hand onto hers. The blonde simply flashed a small smile in response.

"Kari," he spoke softly, "I want you to promise you won't forget me. Do you understand?" She gaped at him in disbelief. And with the returned sad smile on his sweet face, she couldn't keep her mind from making the whole situation click into place. This was her best friend laying here. Something inside was still praying that it was a dream…that she'd wake up and he'd knock on her apartment door good as always, not hurting like he was now. But it was when she felt him gently squeeze her hand, and she saw the way his cerulean eyes were pleading with her, that she realized that it was real: _this _was real. Takeru was in pain.

**He was dying.**

That was what knocked the wind out of her. Takeru's life was rapidly fading away; Yamato was in a coma. She was incapable of doing anything to fix it.

"I understand," she finally assured him, voice quivering. "I could never forget you, I promise. Best friends always, right?"

He smiled so brightly; the dreary room seemed to light up. "Always."

Suddenly, the heart monitor began to beep out of control. The nurses that Hikari had failed to notice were in the room ran over at once, while Taichi joined her by the bedside. The heart monitor went crazy for a moment, and as quickly as it started, it slowed. The beeps came to far too spread apart to be normal, almost as if they were reluctant to come at all. The nurses and now some doctors were at the scene, trying to help him. But as Hikari later found, there was nothing they could've done to save him.

As the beeping continued to idle, Takeru glanced up at Taichi, "Tai, please, keep 'Nii-san safe for me. It's the least I can do after all he's done for me. Tell him… I love him, would you? Mom and Dad, too?" Tears filled Taichi's eyes as he nodded and placed his hand gently on the younger boys head. "Sure thing, kid; we'll miss you."

Takeru closed his eyes and smiled one last time, "Goodbye Kari. I'll be watching over you. Don't forget; you promised not to forget." Those were the last words that left Takeru Takaishi's lips. The monitor released one endless tone and the doctors looked at each other with expressions of sadness.

To Kari, time stood still. He couldn't be…couldn't be…She couldn't even say the word. She grasped his chilling hand like a lifeline; face soaked with tears that wouldn't stop coming. She stared for several moments at the boy in front of her. The angel with golden hair and ocean eyes who meant the world to her. What was it going to be like back at school without his smile to get her through the day? Who else would she talk to when she was feeling bad? Who else would keep her from trouble? With her brother weeping beside her, she let out a silent scream followed by sobs of misery.

How could the world survive without hope?

**A/N: Please review!**


	2. Return to the Hospital

**Okay, so this chapter doesn't have a lot of Takari in it, but it was necessary for the rest of the story, so hang in there and I promise in the next chapter Takeru will make his appearance. **_Italics **is Takeru speaking or his actions.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_**

* * *

**_It was dark in the tiny room where she lay, breathing softly as ruby eyes stared blankly straight ahead. The shades had been pulled shut to block out the warm, summer sunshine that was still attempting to melt its way into her bedroom. Hikari lay almost lifeless on her soft, pink comforter, eyes kept closed, like the curtains. The streams of liquid crystal had dried, leaving streaks down her cheeks and the sobs had finally silenced, creating an eerie stillness. How many moments did she spend praying that she would wake up from this nightmare?

In her hand she held a crest, yellow in color and concealed in a tag. As she ran her finger along its surface, she pictured him. She memorized his warm smile, his golden, untamed hair, and his sea blue eyes that were a reflection of his brother's…

…his brother who had been a coma for the past two weeks since the accident.

Masaharu had called sometime earlier, as Taichi explained, to give them the details of what had happened. Apparently, Yamato had been driving home from one of his concerts late at night with Takeru in the passenger seat. Hikari had known they were going; it was all her best friend had talked about during the week before. She could still remember the grin he wore every time it'd come up. It was rare, even in high school, for Takeru's mother to let him to go one of her eldest son's performances, not wanting to risk her youngest's safety…

The accident had been caused by a middle-aged man who was intoxicated while driving home. When he started to get a bit dizzy, he swerved his car, sending it flying into other lane and right into Yamato's car, which then went tumbling off of the road and rolled to a stop a few flips later at the bottom of a ditch. According to the police, it was Takeru who had called for the ambulance; apparently Yamato had been out cold the moment the car stopped moving (although TK was barely conscious by the time help had arrived). The man had tried to make a get-away, but didn't get very far before the police caught up with him. They were holding him at the moment, hoping to have a trial if Yamato woke up…

If…

Hikari decided she hated that word. How dare they say "if" Yamato wakes up…of course he'll wake up!

Won't he?

She'd like more than anything to believe that everything could somehow manage to be okay. But it just wasn't possible. What was life without Takeru? It wasn't life at all. Hikari didn't feel like the keeper of light; instead she felt like darkness was suffocating her. She couldn't even remember moving from her room in the past days.

It wasn't until a few days later that Taichi burst into the room, only to find her still curled up in the dark. She refused to even meet his eyes, brimming with urgency, until he exclaimed, "He's awake!"

* * *

Hikari wasn't sure what to feel during the ride over to the hospital. What does one think at such a moment? Should she cheer in joy of the awakening of someone close enough to be her brother? Or should she be nervous because his condition is still critical and they're still missing someone…

Or were they?

_A blonde boy with warm blue eyes, the color of cloudless sky, followed down the cold, hospital hallways closely behind the duo; unseen, unheard._

The thick door of Yamato's room was heavy when Hikari reluctantly tried to pull it open. Everything about that moment was _far_ too familiar. Fear coursed through her veins as she hesitantly stepped inside, Tachi only a step behind her. She jumped nervously when the 'beep' of the heart monitor sounded, making her body tense and uneasy. The hospital room wasn't nearly as bright as the hallways; the only light provided was from a small lamp on the bedside table.

"Yamato."

If Kari's heart hadn't already been broken by previous occurrences, that single word would have shattered it into a million, tiny pieces because that was the most despairing tone she'd ever heard Tachi speak with. She watched as her brother took nervous strides to the bedside.

"Yamato," he choked out again, voice barely audible and laced with anguish.

"Tai?" Hikari subconsciously noted the way Matt's voice still sounded beautiful and soothing, even with the slight dissonance and breathy tone that came with not being used. "Taichi, I-" the rest of the words were cut off when Tai wrapped his arms around the thin frame of his childhood companion, pulling Matt's broken body to his torso. The brunette rested his head on top of his friends, letting his tears drip down onto a mess of soft blonde hair.

Kari swore she noticed Yamato wince at Taichi's forceful embrace, but he made no effort to remove the other boy's arms from around him. After a moment, Tai finally pulled away, but just enough so he could inspect the damage of his beloved. Kari walked closer, upon receiving a hand signal from her brother. She allowed a small gasp escape her lips.

Yamato looked so…_broken_.

The pale flesh of his skin, which was all too visible given the fabric of the hospital gown was so limited, was covered in deep blue and purple bruises. Tiny scrapes, from what Hikari assumed was the windshield shattering, were all over. An incredibly deep gash was present in Yamato's left shoulder, which they later found out was from a particularly large shard of glass that had forced it's way through the layers of his skin. On his forehead, the blonde was nursing a giant welt and a couple more cuts. According to the doctors, Matt had also fractured a rib and twisted his ankle when it got caught under the break pedal, but they promised it wouldn't need a cast and he should be able to walk on it within the week. To top off the tragic sight, he was attached to several different wires. It just wasn't right.

This was Ishida, Yamato they were talking about. Hikari had never known Yamato to be anything but strong, caring, and a little short-tempered sometimes. Even after seeing a breakdown or two; even after knowing the struggles he had undertaken in his life, she would have never imagined she would see Matt so _frail_…so _fragile_…

"Yama-chan, do you know where you are?" Taichi asked. The younger Yagami was surprised when the blonde just gave a nod instead of snapping about the stupidity of the question.

The next sentence was such a blow to the siblings that Hikari was sure she was going to vomit from the pain. It didn't matter how soft spoken, or raspy Matt's voice was. She heard every word and deep down wished she hadn't.

"I killed him…didn't I."

"_No you didn't, 'niisan. This isn't your fault!"_

It was a statement, not a question. Hikari quickly glanced at her brother for what to do, but was met with a wide-eyed Taichi.

"Yamato, how could you say that?"

He was shaking now, azure eyes drowning in the tears welling up, "Because Takeru is dead. And I was driving."

"_Matt, I'm right here!"_

"Yamato, the man was wasted. He has the fault here, not you."

"But I-" Taichi put a finger to his lips.

"No more, Matt. Not now. We'll talk about this later. When you're well." And with that Hikari joined her brother _(and Takeru)_ in wrapping their arms around the blonde, the three (_four)_ dissolving into tears.

A moment later, she'd write if off as lack of sleep, but for a split second, Hikari swore she saw another blonde in the entangled in the teary embrace…

**A/N: Please review! Thank you!**


	3. A Faceless Voice

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Just so we're clear, I know that technically the digidestined don't have their crests/tags anymore because they didn't need them (this took place in the 2nd to last episode of the 1st season) but for the purpose of this story, I am disregarding that factor. =)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The car ride back to the Yagami's apartment had an uncomfortable air about it.

"Nii-san…Yamato…he doesn't really think that…he couldn't actually believe…"

Taichi released a heavy sigh and took a sun-kissed hand off of the steering wheel to tousle his sister's hair.

"I don't know, Kar. It could have just been a random thought that crossed his mind, but my guess is that he truly believes it. I can't say I blame him, really," he offered her a sad smile, "if I was in the situation Yamato is in, and you had been…I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I'm sure I'd start to believe all kinds of lies."

Hikari took Taichi's hand off her head and squeezed it tightly.

"But it's just not fair. He's already in enough pain. There's nothing he could have done."

"I know. But for now, there isn't anything we can really do but let him battle with it himself. I'll bring it up when he's healthy, but right now, in his condition, it's probably not the best idea to get him riled up, and you know how Yama gets when he thinks he's right." The brunette chuckled wistfully to himself.

"But don't you think it'll only make it worse to put it off? The longer he has to dwell on it, the more it'll hurt him."

"Good point," another sigh, "I just don't know. I guess we'll have to see what happens."

When they entered through their door, the siblings were greeted by a big hug from their mother.

"How's Yamato, Tai?"

"Not-so-good, 'Kasan. But the doctors say they think he'll pull through, and they're glad he woke up before they had to take him off life support. I'm going to head back over there again after dinner, okay?"

"Of course, that's fine. Hikari? Sweetie, can I get you something to eat?"

"No thank you; I'm not hungry."

Mrs. Yagami frowned. "But sweetheart, you've barely eaten anything," she called after her daughter's retreating form.

"I'm sorry…I'm not hungry…"

"_You really should eat something, you know." _

Hikari turned back to her mother before shutting her bedroom door.

"Mom, I'm really not hungry." Her mother looked up from a conversation she was having with Taichi, "Hmmm? What was that, dear?"

"N-nothing…I just swore you said…nevermind…" She shook her head and closed the door before heading over to her bed.

"_Kari, if you don't start eating more, you're going to be a skeleton like Matt."_

The brunette whipped her head around, but it appeared that no one was there.

"Stop it, Hikari," she mumbled, lightly hitting herself in the head, "you're just tired. It's been a long couple of weeks."

There was a soft tapping at her door, and her mother poked her head in, "Kari? Are you okay, sweetie?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks Mom."

"Okay. Well, I'm going to take some groceries over to Natsuko, the poor dear. Your brother is still here if you need anything." She disappeared and pulled the door shut again.

Kari plopped down on her bed and exhaled deeply. She stared idly at the picture on her desk of her and Takeru that was taken the summer they visited Mimi in New York. Reminiscing about the happy time brought tears to her ruby eyes. She briskly wiped the tears away with a quivering hand.

An odd and sudden weight on her shoulder made her jump a little. Slightly disturbed, she turned but again, saw nothing.

"What is going on? I must really be losing it." She glanced up at the ceiling, "TK? If you can hear me up there, I think I'm going crazy. I…I really…r-really…m-m-miss you-u," she stuttered, on the verge of more tears.

"_Please don't cry anymore, Kari. I hate to see you so sad. I just wish there was something I could do..."_

Wide-eyed and panicked, she jumped to her feet, eyes darting in every direction.

As she glanced back toward the desk, a gasp of bewilderment escaped her lips. Takeru's crest that was sitting on the table was shooting a blazing, yellow light into the middle of the room. Hikari stood frozen in place, gawking at the image before her. In the center of the room, where the beam of light ended, the outline of a figure flashed in and out for a moment before the light flooded through every inch of the surrounding space. Kari shut her eyes tight for a moment from the blinding light.

Slowly and cautiously, she cracked her eyelids open again and examined the scene. The crest of hope had stopped glowing and was laying idly on the desk's surface. The light in the room had faded, leaving her eyes in need of readjusting. When they were re-focused, Hikari nearly passed out from shock. She rubbed viciously at her eyes again and again, but could not shake the image displayed in front of her.

There, standing right before her very eyes, was none other than Takeru Takaishi.

* * *

**A/N: So now we're getting somewhere! Okay, so this was a short chapter, but I just wanted to get it up as soon as possible. The next one will be up asap! **

**Please review! Thank you!  
**


	4. We Meet Again

Hikari _wanted_ to move.

She _wanted_ to cry, to smile, to run over and hug him, but while her head swarmed with questions and confusion, she just _couldn't_ will her body to do anything but stay frozen in place. Because the boy standing a few feet away from her _shouldn't_ be there.

But he _was_.

A couple of moments passed by. Neither of them moved. Serene azure collided with hysteric scarlet. Takeru stared at the brunette, his blonde head cocked to the side in curiosity. He turned to look behind him, but it appeared no one else was there.

When Hikari stuttered, "T-t-akeru?" even the calm boy was startled.

"Kari…you can…see me?"

Before that moment, Takeru didn't think Hikari's eyes could have gotten any wider before they popped out of their sockets.

He was wrong.

In all the shock, he also didn't expect the generally quiet girl to make a sound.

"TAIIIIIIIICHIIIIIII!"

Wrong again.

The blonde had to plug his ears. In all their years of battling life-threatening digimon, he had never heard Kari release a shriek as shrill as right then.

Apparently, Taichi had just gotten out of the shower, because when he burst through the door, he was shirtless and equipped with a hair dryer as his weapon of defense. It took only a few seconds for the device to crash to the floor as the elder Yagami caught sight of the look of panic on his baby sister's face and the identity of the other person in the bedroom with them.

He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again. Nothing had changed.

"Kari…"

No one moved. No one spoke.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" the blonde finally addressed the siblings.

Hikari could have fainted.

"What kind of a question is that, Takaishi?" Taichi shakily spat out, "you're supposed to be...you're not supposed to be here."

Takeru's eyes fell to the floor, "I've been here…I've been following you two around since…but you could never see me before…" He turned to Kari. She saw his movements out of the corner of her eye, but just couldn't face him.

'This is just a dream,' she told herself firmly, 'you're imagining things. How long has it been since you've slept? Takeru is…gone…and he's not coming back…'

"Kari…" the strain in what was usually (or had once usually been…) a sweet and sunny voice pulled her from her thoughts and forced her eyes to meet his.

"…please…" he whispered pleadingly, a hand extended towards her, palm up.

She couldn't help it. Even with the harsh absurdity of the situation, even knowing she would probably wake up from this dream in a few moments, she still couldn't help but reach out her tiny, shaking hand and place it in his. Whether he did so consciously or not, the blonde exhaled deeply and pulled her into a tight embrace. She could feel her face flushing furiously.

It didn't matter, dream or not, because Takeru felt warm and safe and smelt like freshly fallen rain just like he always had.

Taichi made his way over to the two and slowly ruffled Takeru's hair, audibly gasping upon making physical contact with someone who wasn't actually alive.

"Listen, Takeru, I don't know what's going on, but we need to figure it out," the keeper of courage stated.

The younger boy nodded and released Kari from his grip.

"Right." He turned to Kari, "Do you remember what happened?"

She thought for a moment, trying to recall the strange occurrences that had happened before her deceased best friend ended up standing in her bedroom.

"Well…I remember hearing your voice…and then there was a really bright light from…" she quickly faced her desk, where the crest of hope still sat motionless.

"The crest!" she exclaimed, grabbing it, "the light was from the crest!"

The she examined it carefully. It was when she flipped it over that the trio noticed small lines engraved in the tag and glowing dully.

"Huh," Taichi took the tag from her, "that's strange…any ideas what it means?"

Takeru glanced at it over his shoulder, "No clue, but I guess that's the best place to start, huh?"

Taichi looked him straight in the eye.

"I think there's somewhere better to start."

…

The nurse looked up from her paperwork. She didn't look like she could be much older than Taichi.

"Back so soon, are you?"

"You bet," Tai responded.

"Is it just the two of you?"

The trio exchanged glances.

"You mean three?" Kari inquired.

The nurse raised her eyebrows and glanced around the siblings, "No, I mean two. It's just the two of you, correct? Or are more coming?"

"No, no. Just us. We'll be seeing you!" Taichi pushed Kari past the quizzical looks of nurse and down the corridor.

"Nii-san, that woman couldn't see TK." Her brother shook his head.

"I know, Kar. That's pretty weird. Although…" casting a glance at the blonde walking along side of them, "at this point, I suppose anything's possible."

"Wait, Tai, what if Matt can't see me?" Takeru suddenly sounded quite alarmed.

"I didn't think of that…well why would we be able to see you if Yama couldn't? He's your brother after all. I feel like if anyone would be able to see you, it'd be him."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I PROMISE this will actually start going somewhere after this. I had more of this chapter, but I decided to use it in the next chapter because I wasn't sure exactly where it was going, so I just decided to update asap. =)**

**Please review!  
**


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